Chicken livers, worms, soy beans, shad guts — avid catfish anglers try a variety of different (and often stinky) methods to try to lure in one of nature’s tastiest treats from the murky depths below.

However, a simple bag of dry cat food is all it takes to turn your run-of-the-mill fishing hole into a catfish paradise.

This unusual method of chumming for catfish was first shown to me by my grandpa, Sonny Swader, who took me fishing at a friend’s pond a few years back. He had told me stories about this fishing hotspot and how it was packed to the brim with big cats, so naturally I was eager to try it out.

As we were leaving, I saw him grab a bag of Meow Mix dry cat food from the table. When I asked him what it was for, he just said “You’ll see.”

When we got to the pond and set up on the dock, he opened up the sack, took a red Solo cup full of Meow Mix and threw it in the water. As I sat waiting for a couple of minutes, I wondered if this would actually work.